News Even casual use of cannabis alters brain, warn scientists

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Smoking marijuana once or twice a week for a matter of months found to have effects on the brain in sections that govern emotion, motivation and addiction​

Experimenting with cannabis on a casual basis damages the brain permanently, research has found.

It is far from being a “safe” drug and no one under the age of 30 should ever use it, experts said.

People who had only used cannabis once or twice a week for a matter of months were found to have changes in the brain that govern emotion, motivation and addiction.
Researchers from Harvard Medical School in America carried out detailed 3D scans on the brains of students who used cannabis casually and were not addicted and compared them with those who had never used it.

Two major sections of the brain were found to be affected.

The scientists found that the more cannabis the 40 subjects had used, the greater the abnormalities.

Around 10 million people in Britain, almost a third of the population, have used illegal drugs, with cannabis the most popular. The research author, Dr Hans Breiter, professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said: “This study raises a strong challenge to the idea that casual marijuana use isn’t associated with bad consequences. Some people only used marijuana to get high once or twice a week.

“People think a little recreational use shouldn’t cause a problem, if someone is doing OK with work or school. Our data directly says this is not the case.

“I’ve developed a severe worry about whether we should be allowing anybody under age 30 to use pot unless they have a terminal illness and need it for pain.”

The team examined sections of the brain involved in emotion, motivation and addiction in 20 students who had used cannabis and 20 who had not. Anne Blood, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said: “These are core, fundamental structures of the brain. They form the basis for how you assess positive and negative features about things in the environment and make decisions about them.”

The changes are thought to be the first steps towards addiction as the brain alters the way it perceives reward and pleasure, making ordinary experiences seem less fulfilling compared with drug use.

Jodi Gilman, a researcher in the Massachusetts General Center for Addiction Medicine, said: “It may be that we’re seeing a type of drug learning in the brain. We think when people are in the process of becoming addicted, their brains form these new connections.

“Drug abuse can cause more dopamine release than natural rewards like food, sex and social interaction. That is why drugs take on so much salience, and everything else loses its importance.” The study is published in the Journal of Neurosciences.

Mark Winstanley, chief executive of Rethink Mental Illness, said: “For too long cannabis has been seen as a safe drug, but as this study suggests, it can have a really serious impact on your mental health.

“Research also shows that when people smoke cannabis before the age of 15, it quadruples their chance of developing psychosis. But very few people are aware of the risks involved.”

Prof David Nutt, from Imperial College, London, said a sample of 40 was not big enough to draw conclusions.

Prof Nutt, who was sacked as a government drugs adviser for his views, added: “Whatever cannabis does to the brain its not in the same league as alcohol which is a proven neurotoxin.”

Legend

Well, I haven't smoked for a solid 2 years (have done some other stuff from time to time) and the only thing I've noticed is that my appetite dropped, and I sleep less. Another thing I noticed was that I'm less irritable now though. I was never irritable while I was high, but if I wasn't high shit would bother me way more than they do now when I don't smoke at all. That's all I've noticed. Some bad, some good.

Legend

I used to smoke Cannabis every day but now I am that once or twice a week guy.

I have found through my experiences of cannabis that it aids weight loss (legit), if you smoke cannabis and exercise then it is easier to lose weight, I have read articles on this also. It helps me relax and is a nice social drug to share with friends. Listed were/are the positive influences I have had from smoking.

Negatives have included; experiencing psychotic episodes, a lack of productivity in terms of coursework, becoming more introverted in general, deficiencies in sentence structure.

I think that there are obvious negatives and positives when it comes to experiences with cannabis. I think that as long as you can tell when you have a problem and are able to makes those changes when necessary then it doesn't really matter what a lot of research says. Everybody's experiences are relative to them, if you think you have a problem then change and if not then live your life happily.

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